Use Of old notes at Petrol Pumps, Hospitals ends tonight

Use Of old notes at Petrol Pumps, Hospitals ends tonight

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 24, 2016 : The government’s concessions for accepting the now banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes at petrol pumps, hospitals and several government facilities ends at midnight tonight, and sources said some exemptions will be extended in a calibrated manner.

The government is expected to make an announcement this evening.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sudden announcement a fortnight ago banning high value notes in an attempt to curb black or untaxed money, took out 86 per cent money in circulation resulting in a massive cash crunch.

The government has rushed to print new currency to replace the old notes and re-calibrate ATMs to dispense the bigger new notes, and PM Modi has sought 50 days to ease the situation. But as people have stood for days in exacting queues at banks and ATMs for rationed new notes, the government and the central bank have also announced almost daily concessions on the use of new notes and on cash withdrawals.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the government’s implementation of the demonetisation a "monumental management failure" and said the "Change of rules every day reflects poorly on the PM’s office and the Reserve Bank of India."